Generally, when scraping glass, tile or other surfaces to remove stubborn debris and dirt that is layered or otherwise located thereon, professionals and non-professionals alike require a scraping tool which, in addition to various ancillary components, has a sharp blade that is secured to a handle portion. At least one primary concern in connection with scraper tools which incorporate a sharp blade is to provide a tool that is safe both during use and storage of the tool, and which prevents accidental cutting injuries and unintended damage to clothing, surfaces and the like.
In attempts to provide a single solution to the foregoing concerns, a number of scraper tools have been successfully marketed to the public. Many of these products incorporate features that help prevent injuries and unintended damage by either directing users to completely remove the blade from the device or to provide a removable guard cover which sheaths the blade entirely. Despite the advances made in connection with these scraper tools, these products have certain major drawbacks.
For example, the prior art discloses a handheld tool for carrying a scraping/stripping blade. The tool includes a handle, a blade receiver and a blade clamp for pivotally clamping a blade. When the device is in an unlocked position, a blade may quickly be removed, inserted or reversed. When utilizing a conventional double-edged blade, only removing it entirely from the device suffices to completely protect a user from injury, since both sides of the blade are razor sharp. However, even when utilizing a conventional single-edged blade having only one sharp edge, inserting the blade in a position where the sharp edge is concealed while the opposite, relatively dull edge remains exposed, still offers a pointed corner which may undesirably catch and tear a pocket of a user when stored therein.
This product also has other shortcomings. For example, professionals who conduct cleaning, washing and scraping activities on glass (or other surfaces) outdoors while in an elevated position (e.g., on a ladder) typically endure wet conditions generally and/or cold hands at given time. Thus, it is tiresome and difficult for these users to be required to repeatedly unlock the clamp and change the orientation of the blade (i.e., insert, remove and/or reverse). Inevitably, because a user's hands are slippery and cold, the blade often slips out of a user's hand, tears his or her clothing, and/or falls to the ground.
Furthermore, the elongated handle of conventional scraper tools leads to users applying a closed hand grip to the handle when utilizing the scraper tool. In applying a closed grip, the angle at which the blade contacts a surface being acted upon is sometimes too extreme (approaching 80-90 degrees) or otherwise less than optimal, which causes a user's hand and wrist to become easily and more quickly fatigued.
In another prior art scraper marketed under the brand Master Mechanic® of True Value Company, a blade is mounted to a retractable blade carrier that is capable of shifting between an exposed position and a retracted position by virtue of the movement of a thumb-actuated button that is connected to the blade carrier. While this device also offers some advantages in that the scraping blade is easily exposed (for use and for replacement of a blade) and retracted (for storage), the device suffers from at least three major drawbacks. First, since the blade in this device is mounted to a carrier which requires clearance to slide between exposed and retracted positions, it provides a wobbly and loosely secured blade which is undesirable to users who require blade stability, particularly when handling sharp objects. Further, the elongated handle attached to the blade also causes a user's hand and wrist to become more easily fatigued because of the “painting” motion (i.e., straight strokes) that is typically required in employing such a scraping tool to remove dirt or debris. Moreover, when the blade is in a retracted position, the scraper has a plastic protective surface which extends slightly beyond the edge of the blade. The protective surface, which runs adjacent to only the top side of the blade, leaves the underside of the blade unprotected and the sharp blade edge partially exposed. As a result, a user running fingers along the plastic protective surface, believing that he or she was fully protected from injury, may cause a serious wound to be inflicted to the user's hands, particularly when the blade is drawn away from the protective surface.
In other prior art scraping devices where a flexible sliding guard is provided for only one side of the leading edge of a blade, a user may likewise be lured into a false sense of security. When a user pushes his or her fingers against the guard, the guard may flex apart from the blade thereby causing an unexpected severe cut. Accordingly, these forms of scraping tools incorporating only “one-sided” flexible sliding guards have been unsuccessful in preventing all types of injury.
In another prior art scraper which is marketed by Vermop® of Vermop Salmon GmbH, a rigid, stationary blade is mounted within a housing case. Since the scraper incorporates a blade that is removable but non-retractable, a separate detachable cover is provided to conceal the blade when the device is not in use. Although the blade edge is fully protected when the cover is engaged, the cover tends to be easily lost, dropped and is otherwise inconvenient in actual use of the instrument.